windows 8: don’t hesitate – let’s navigate

i a a p - h q . o r g

Windows 8: Don’t Hesitate –

Let’s Navigate Greg Creech Enjoy using Windows 8.1 by modifying the Start screen, using the Charms bar, and

employing helpful commands via the new Ribbon. We will explore Windows 8.1’s

new tabs and groups in the Ribbon and learn productive shortcuts and tips and

tricks, such as Snap and Jump Lists. Don’ Hesitate – Let’s Navigate and Learn

Windows 8 together.

08 Fall

Windows 8: Don’t Hesitate – Let’s Navigate Greg Creech

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ................................................................................. 1

Oops! and Legal Stuff ............................................................................. 4

IAAP and Greg Creech ............................................................................. 5

Introduction – Windows 8.1 ...................................................................... 6

The Start Screen ................................................................................... 7

Start screen – Tiles and Apps Views............................................................. 8

Important key combinations ................................................................... 11

The Desktop ...................................................................................... 12

How Charming!?: The Charms Bar ............................................................. 13

Desktop, Taskbar Shortcuts and Jump Lists ................................................. 14

Taskbar Properties .................................................................................... 14

Navigation Properties – Go Directly to Desktop .................................................. 14

Jump Lists Options .................................................................................... 15

Toolbars ................................................................................................. 15

Jump Lists ............................................................................................... 16

Peek at the Desktop ................................................................................... 17

The Windows 8 Ribbon .......................................................................... 18

Home – It’s good to be home! ....................................................................... 20

Clipboard Group ................................................................................................... 21

Copy Path ........................................................................................................ 21

Organize Group .................................................................................................... 21

Move to and Copy to ........................................................................................... 21

Delete ............................................................................................................ 21

Rename .......................................................................................................... 21

New Group .......................................................................................................... 21

New Folder ...................................................................................................... 21

Easy access ...................................................................................................... 21

Open Group ......................................................................................................... 21

Properties ........................................................................................................ 21

Open, Edit and History ........................................................................................ 21

Select Group ....................................................................................................... 22

Selections ........................................................................................................ 22


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Share – It’s nice to share ............................................................................. 22

Send Group ...................................................................................................... 22

Share with ....................................................................................................... 22

View Tab ................................................................................................. 22

Panes Group - Organizing your Window Panes ............................................................... 22

Layout Group – Formerly known as Views ..................................................................... 24

It’s is all in the details – Details Layout .................................................................... 24

Icon Layouts ..................................................................................................... 25

List, Tiles and Content Layouts .............................................................................. 25

Current View ....................................................................................................... 25

Sort by ............................................................................................................ 25

Group by ......................................................................................................... 26

Show/Hide Group.................................................................................................. 26

Options and More Options ....................................................................................... 26

Folder Options – Generic items .............................................................................. 27

Folder Options – A View from the Top ...................................................................... 28

Folder Options – The Search is on ........................................................................... 28

Key Tips ........................................................................................... 29

Search - Seek and you will find ................................................................ 30

File Explorer Search – ................................................................................. 30

Location ............................................................................................................. 30

Refine ............................................................................................................... 30

Options .............................................................................................................. 30

Windows Search ........................................................................................ 31

Manage and Play Tabs ........................................................................... 32

Libraries ........................................................................................... 33

Navigation in File Explorer ..................................................................... 34

It’s a Snap! ........................................................................................ 35

Shake It, Baby, Shake It and Arranging your Desktop items! ............................ 37

Selecting files, folders, and items ............................................................ 38

Practice makes Perfect – Here’s some suggest exercises to help you learn. ........................ 39

The Windows Salute! ............................................................................ 40

Task Manager (Windows Three Fingered Salute) ................................................ 40

Notification Area – Formerly known as System Tray ............................................ 41

Desktop Customization ......................................................................... 43

Desktop Shortcuts ..................................................................................... 43


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Practice Makes Perfecdt - Your Turn – Shortcut! ......................................................... 45

Personalization ......................................................................................... 46

Your Turn – Choose a Theme ................................................................................. 46

Desktop Background .............................................................................................. 47

Color Schemes ..................................................................................................... 47

Sounds ............................................................................................................... 48

Screen Saver ....................................................................................................... 48

Other Important Desktop Settings .............................................................................. 49

Your Theme Park! .............................................................................................. 49

Screen Resolution ..................................................................................... 50

View by and Sort by ................................................................................... 51

View by .............................................................................................................. 51

Sort by ............................................................................................................... 51

Make your Desktop neat and orderly ....................................................................... 51

New Stuff, Old Stuff, and Removed Stuff ................................................... 52

The Snipping Tool ...................................................................................... 52

On your own – Snip a map. ................................................................................... 53

Sticky Notes ............................................................................................. 54

Stick ‘em up – Create your own Sticky Notes ............................................................. 54

Calculator ............................................................................................... 54

Calculate This! Up to you ..................................................................................... 55

Index ............................................................................................... 56


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Oops! and Legal S tuff

While I have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this document, including grammar

and instructions, I make mistakes. (Surprise!) If you find an error or want to provide

constructive feedback, please contact me. Thank you! Enjoy Windows 8 and this document

as you discover how great Windows 8 can be.

Greg Creech

Techedutainment Services, Inc.

P. O. Box 1431

Pine Lake, GA 30072

404-299-1706

www.gregcreech.com

A few items you should know about me:

International Association of Administrative Professionals Business Partner and Member

American Society of Training and Development Member

Society of Human Resources Management Member

Microsoft Office User Specialist Certification – Master Expert and Instructor

CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer +

A+ Certified Systems Technician through CompTIA

Microsoft Certified Technical Trainer

2007 Southern Region University Continuing Education Association Award Winner for

the Top Non-Credit Programs

2009 Southern Region Association of Continuing Higher Education’s Faculty Award

winner for my work at Emory University’s Center for Lifelong Learning

Former National Speakers Association Member

Windows 8.1 ® is a most excellent Operating System product from Microsoft ® Corporation as

are some of other products I mention such as programs of the Office® Suite, including Word,

Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and other fantastic programs.

Copyright © 2015Greg Creech, Techedutainment Services, Inc. All rights reserved. This

publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an

information retrieval system, or otherwise, without express written permission of Greg

Creech, P. O. Box 1431, Pine Lake, GA 30072-1431, www.gregcreech.com. Special

permissions given to IAAP and its members.

http://www.gregcreech.com/

http://www.gregcreech.com/


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IAAP and Greg Creech

On January 5, 1981, I entered the world of being an administrative professional as the only

male Steno Clerk in Columbia, SC at Southern Bell. As my manager, Becky Davis, introduced

me to all of the women, one funny woman exclaimed: “Well, there goes the steno pool; they

let a rooster in the hen house!” Later in the day, I used an IBM Selectric typewriter to type a

proposal. As I typed, I noticed the silence in the room and looked up to see everyone staring

at me. The funny woman said: “I’ve never seen a man that could type like that. Who

would’ve thought.” I could type 70 WPM with no mistakes. I worked in Sales and Marketing at

AT&T in many clerical, administrative, and operations management positions. My longest

responsibility for over 10 years was as a Compensation Manager in Sales and Marketing for

various sales organizations , and in 1998, I took an early retirement buy out package as an

Operations Manager. AT&T supported my comedy, musical, and motivational presentations

internally and externally, too, so I had the best of both worlds: administrative position and

entertaining presenter. I continue to enjoy at&t as a customer and supplier as I train on and

develop Access databases for at&t.

Since 1998, I have pursued my passion and love of technology, education, comedy/humor,

music, and administration. In April 2006 for Administrative Professional Day, I presented my

musical, humorous stress management speech at Midlands Technical College with over 650

admins in my home town of Columbia, SC. Four months later, I and Mary Stuckey, my

neighbor, were at a neighborhood meeting and she informed me that she was being installed

as President – Georgia Division of IAAP. Mary and I have been neighbors for 9 years at that

point and we never knew of our administrative connections. I told her about my presentations

and programs. In November 2006 at an IAAP Educational Seminar in Macon, GA I presented my

humorous, musical presentation on business communication, stress management, and career

development entitled “SMILE”. I joined IAAP in 2007. The presentation was a hit and IAAP

blesses me frequently allowing me to present at chapter meetings, conferences, and other

events. Being included on this Louisville Summit conference is an absolute dream come true

for me and I owe much thanks to my sisters in the Georgia and South Carolina chapters for all

of the persistent and consistent recommendations, referrals, prayers, and compliments since

the beginning. I hope you enjoy my presentation as much as I enjoy presenting it.


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In t roduct ion – Windows 8.1

Microsoft® had a good idea of creating an Operating System that worked on all devices plus

used the same interface and look. However, clients use smartphones, tablets, laptops, and

desktops in different ways and are accustom to using various tools depending on the device.

For example, I love my mouse and do not want to part from it in using my desktop. I find

selecting items by tap and drag isn’t the easiest to select large amount of text on my tablet

or phone, and I rarely created new and extensive documents, spreadsheets, or presentations

on my hand help devices; I save extensive edits and document creation for my desktop and

laptop, especially for inserting pictures, graphs, charts and other elements.

When Windows 8 appeared with the login screen and the Start menu, folks immediately did

not like the change. Using the desktop and the start button were more productive and less

cumbersome on a desktop/laptop than a tablet or phone which we like the Start screen and

tiles on these devices to navigate. The publicity and the client feedback prompted Microsoft

to develop Windows 8.1 with the return of the Desktop at start-up and other needed

improvements. We will cover the Start screen, revised Start button, touchscreen technology,

and other improvements.

I designed this course for current users of Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7; this

presentation and manual are not for the novice or those new to a computer. I organized

the information based on what most people would need to know first and then advance into

more customization of Windows 8.1. You should be at your computer and as you read the

information make the changes. Many of the options you set will not be edited again until you

want to make a change.

At a glance, here are some of the items that I enjoy using in Windows 8.1 (some of which

Windows 7 introduced) and that we will learn in the course:

Customizing the Start screen for your favorite apps and tools,

Touch screen technology,

Charms Bar,

Working with the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar

Jump Lists in the Start screen and Taskbar,

Pinning Programs and Files to your Jump List,

Navigating between the desktop, applications, and the Start screen,

Search,

Snap – quickly rearrange your files side-by-side and maximize,

Peek – quickly viewing your desktop and activating the desktop,

And the List goes on and on!

Get ready to experience how great Windows 8 can be.


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The S tar t Screen

At first glance Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 introduce change to the familiar Desktop - the

new Start screen which is an expanded version of the previous Start menu. Instead of the

Desktop which contained the Start button to produce the Start menu as we have had for

many years, now we have an entire screen devoted to our favorite applications, web sites,

and system tools. Start Screen effectively will reduce the need to load the Desktop with so

many shortcuts so you can barely see your Desktop; however, as Microsoft has learned old

habits die hard with folks like me who remember DOS. I like change as long as the change is

productive; the original version of Windows 8 was not as productive as the past to navigate

and to perform simple operations, like shutting down. Windows 8.1 reintroduces the Start

button to toggle from the desktop to the Start screen, but right clicking or using your

secondary mouse button to produce a terrific shortcut menu from the Start button is quite

advantageous. We will learn about the renewed Start button and how to customize the Start

screen to fit your needs with using the newest Microsoft Operating System.


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The Windows Key ( ) on your keyboard activates the Start screen for you and toggles

through your active file/program and your Start screen as you press the Windows key. You

may click the Desktop tile or press the Windows key and the D key ( + D) to activate your

Desktop screen. The Windows key is on your keyboard but may look different than

this which is a legacy Windows logo; your Windows key may look more like this:

Star t screen – T i les and Apps Views

You may customize the Start screen in many ways to fit your needs. For example, when you

right click or secondary click the Start screen, a menu at the bottom of your screen appears

for you to customize your view. This is displayed below. In the customize view, you may type

over the “Name group” item to create your own groups and add your apps to that group.

If you are using a touch screen, you tap, hold, and release

to retrieve shortcut menus. To select an App or tile you

right click or tap and hold for a touchscreen, the tile or

app and Windows selects the tile/app for you and

provides a menu at the bottom of your screen to

customize the tile. After renaming a group, you can click

and drag your apps to that group. As displayed above, I

have created my Favorites group and my Office group

with the appropriate apps. You may right click or

secondary mouse click an app and the menu at the bottom offers important features for


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customizing your app. For example, you may resize your app’s tile and you should pin your

often used apps to your Start screen and your taskbar. Since I have already pinned Outlook

2013 to my Start and to my taskbar, my screen displays Unpin as pictured here with Outlook

2013 app’s menu. This is an important menu to remember and use.

Hot Tip! Take the time to Pin your favorite and often used apps, tools, and

other items to your Start screen and Taskbar which contain Jump Lists which we

will learn about later. Right clicking (secondary clicking) for touchscreen

computers/tablets is Tap, Hold, and Release a screen, button, etc. and a shortcut

menu or pane appears for you.

When you choose the resize option, this menu appears for Small, Medium, Wide, and Large.

After resizing you may click and drag the tile to a new location. Not all apps will have the

same size selections; some apps may limit you to Small or Medium. Creating Groups is an

efficient way of using your computer for other applications rather than only using your

Desktop to navigate and open apps and files. Plus weather, photos, news feeds, and other

apps are live and update for you. You may turn off a live tile by right clicking the tile and at

the bottom choose “turn live tile off.”

If you have a touch screen, you may swipe up to view all of your applications or you may click

the arrow at the lower left of you Start screen to view all of your applications.

The All Apps view is a terrific way to add Apps to your Start screen or to

your taskbar or to navigate to rarely used apps and administrative tools.

As described previously you may right click any app to use the customize

menu at the bottom of your screen to add the app to your taskbar or start

and perform other common actions. You may arrange your All Apps view

by several ways when you click the arrow next to Apps you can arrange by

name, date installed, by most used, and by category. Having the all Apps

view is like having our old favorites of All Programs, Control Panel, and

other items in one place.

To the S tore for App Shopping!

On your Start screen is the Store tile; this is an important tile for you to add Apps

to your computer. One noticeable absence from Windows 8.1 is no games! Not

even, Solitaire. You’ll find other missing items, such as gadgets (the Windows Live

Tile Apps replaces gadgets). So go shopping for many, many apps at the Store tile.

When you sign in to your computer and Windows 8, you should use your Windows

ID for consumers and other Windows ID for businesses as directed by your IT

professional.

Practice makes perfect:


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Here are some exercises for you to accomplish:

1. Rearrange your Start screen tiles by clicking and dragging them (for touchscreens tap,

hold for a second, and then drag),

2. Rename groups and drag apps to them,

3. Resize your tiles as you like from the customize menu,

4. Pin your favorite and often used apps to your task bar.

The Wor ld of Apps

You will soon discover how the Apps in

Windows 8.1 work and are filled with

options for you to explore and use. You

should start with Apps like the

Weather, Photos, and Maps to

customize the App to fit your needs.

Remember to right click or secondary

mouse click (or press and hold for a

second on a touchscreen) once the

App opens to see your options at the

bottom of the screen. My weather App

appears here with the options at the top

and below the screen.

The Photos App appears here and when

I right click (or swipe down for

touchscreens), a photo folder’s tile

additional options appear below the

gallery of folders. Once you open a

photo folder you may edit the photo for

cropping, rotating, color, and other

options for your photo. While you may

use other applications for your photos

and other file types, you should try

these apps. You go directly to the Start

screen and the apps from your sign-

on/login screen. This saves time

bypassing the Desktop.


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These apps are not as robust as your similar desktop apps.

Important key combinat ions

Toggling between your desktop, apps, and other areas of your computer can be cumbersome.

Using the good, old ALT + Tab key provides the pane below with ALL of your open and active

applications, system tools, desktop, and so on. As you press and hold the ALT key and then

press and release (tap) the TAB key, Windows maneuvers through each pane for you to select

the app or tool you wish to activate when you release the ALT key.

If you only want your Apps in view, press the Windows Key ( or ) and the TAB

key and a you tap and release the Tab key, Windows moves through the Apps for you to

select the App you wish to work with. If you are working with an App and press the

Windows Key and the Tab key, the Desktop will appear in the list for you, so the active

app or desktop item that you are working in will not appear in your list.


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The Desktop

From the Start screen, you may click or tap the Desktop tile to open your familiar

Desktop screen. You may use the keyboard combination of your Windows key and

the D key to activate your Desktop screen. The Microsoft Start tile button on

your Desktop provides quick access to your favorite programs and files as never

before with the Start screen. The Start tile button appears at the lower left part

of your screen where you should be accustomed from the

previous start buttons in Windows. Your button changes color

as you hover over it. You may toggle to the Start screen from

your desktop or other App by pressing this tile button or

pressing the Windows Key on your keyboard. However, the

power of this button is not to toggle back and forth to the

Start screen; the power is in right clicking or using your

secondary mouse button to view the productive and new

menu displayed here. The keyboard shortcut to activate this

menu is the Windows key and the X key ( + X) or for

touchscreen tap, hold, and release the Start button.

Hot Tip! The Secret Start Menu – Right clicking If

you don’t remember or use any other item in this

manual – this is one you should use early and often to

save time and frustration in activating your File

Explorer, Control Panel, to Shut down or sign- out and other shortcuts. Remember

the Windows key and X or right click the Windows tile at the desktop.

I find using this menu easier than using other areas of Windows 8.1, although the Charms bar

contains efficient ways of accomplishing tasks. I have my Shut down or sign out cascading

menus displayed here. This is one of the easiest ways to Restart, Sleep, Sign out, or Shut

down your computer.

There are websites that provide downloads that can give you the classic start menu with the

directories, programs, and other items.


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How Charming!?: The Charms Bar

The Charms Bar appears when you move your cursor to the right edge of your screen (or

swipe from the right edge of a touchscreen) and move your focus to the grayed buttons

(pictured at right) or use the Windows Key plus the C key, This is another quick way

to navigate to often used tools. Once you move your focus into the grayed Charms

area, the Charms bar activates (pictured at far right) as it blackens for you to select

an administrative or system tool to use such as search, devices, or settings. You’ll find

this easier than trying to navigate through the Control Panel. For example, when I

click Settings, the menu offers PC Info which displays my version of Windows, the type

of processor I’m using, and other geeky stuff. This is a way to shut down by using the

Power button on the Settings menu.

The Charms Bar items change based upon where you active the bar. For example,

if you activate your Charms bar while at the Start screen you receive a different

Settings pane than the one pictured at right.

If you want to customize your Start screen follow these steps:

1. At the Start screen, activate the Charms bar (Windows Key + C key) or

move you cursor to the upper right of your screen,

2. At the Charms bar click Settings and from Settings click Personalization.

3. You may personalize the Tiles to display or not display the Administrative

Tools on your Start screen. After pressing Personalize, Windows offers you

a palette of choices for a back ground graphic and background color and

accent.

I’ll show you how to use your desktop background as your Start screen background

later.


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Desktop, Taskbar Shortcuts and Jump Lis ts

One of the important tasks to complete from the Start screen is to

Pin your Apps to your Taskbar as we learned earlier. After pinning your

Apps to the Taskbar, Windows magic begins tracking the files you

open in the app to create a fantastic Windows 7 carryover feature

entitled Jump Lists. We’ll look at customizing your Jump Lists and

other important Windows 8.1 features as we customize your Taskbar,

Navigation, and other items.

Taskbar Properties

At the Desktop, right click or tap and hold for a second on a

touchscreen an empty area of your Taskbar to retrieve the menu at

right. (Notice this allows you to rearrange your Desktop, Activate

Toolbars, go to the Task Manager, and I have my Lock the taskbar

selected, so my taskbar is always visible no matter the app or website

I use. At this menu you should click the last item, Properties.

The Taskbar and Navigation properties pane appears for you at the

Taskbar tab. You should decide if you want to lock your taskbar so it

is always visible or Auto-hide your taskbar so it minimizes when you

move away from it. I’m over 55 years old, so the “Use small taskbar

buttons” is useless for me, but if you have great eyesight then this is

for you! You may change the Taskbar position or decide how you want

Windows to group your apps in the Taskbar. We’ll look at customizing

the Notification area later. We will learn about the advantages and

disadvantages of the Peek feature, too. The important tab for us

now is the Navigation tab which is new to Windows 8.1.

Navigation Properties – Go Directly to Desktop

One big complaint about Windows 8 was the inability to go directly

to the desktop and use the Start menu. Windows 8.1 corrects this

with the Navigation tab in the Taskbar and Navigation

properties. While I like using the Start screen, I love my desktop. I

use my desktop computer differently than my tablets and

smartphones; I save files on hard drives (I know how old school) as

well as on cloud services using my desktop computer. I create and

edit extensive documents like this manual using my desktop or

laptop, so going directly to the Desktop is more productive for

me (and many other Windows users, too). As displayed at right,

the Navigation tab has important Corner navigation and Start


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screen options for you to consider. I like using the Corner navigation except I do not use the

Command Prompt and I like using the Windows key + X for my mini Start menu. If moving

your mouse to the upper right corners to activate the Charms bar or having the Recent App

screen with a click in the upper left corner annoys you this is how you may turn them off.

The Start screen options allow me to select going

directly to the Desktop after I login instead of Start

and I can use the same desktop wallpaper on my Start

screen so these are checked for me. I do like using my

Windows logo key to toggle to my Start screen from

my desktop or other application, so I have checked this

option as well. You should decide how you want to use

your computer – starting at the Start screen or

Desktop and how you want the Apps to appear.

Jump Lists Options

The next tab in our Taskbar and Navigation properties

dialogue box is Jump Lists. You may change the

number of items (files, websites, folders) that you

view in your Jump Lists. We will look at Jump Lists in

a moment. I have set my items to 30; the maximum is

60. Since I am the only user of my computer, I

certainly want the Privacy items checked. These two

items of storing your items in Jump Lists are the

power and convenience of using Jump Lists.

Toolbars

The final tab in our Taskbar and Navigation properties dialogue

box is Toolbars. As pictured at right I have activated my

Links, Touch Keyboard, and Desktop toolbars. With Toolbars

you add a cascading menu for you to choose the area you wish

to Navigate. The Touch Keyboard button opens my onscreen

keyboard when I want to use my touchscreen keyboard rather

than my old fashion keyboard attachment. My Desktop

toolbar’s menu appears below.

Take the time to set these options once and only change them when needed

which should be very rarely.


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Jump Lists

A productive feature from Windows 7 that carries over to Windows 8 is Jump Lists. We

previously set the number of items in our Jump Lists, now time

to use them. With your popular apps (including your favorite

web browser, security, Adobe products, QuickBooks/Quicken,

Microsoft Office, and so on) pinned to your taskbar, Windows

tracks the files, websites, and folder from where you open the

item. When you right click or use your secondary mouse button

on an App in the Taskbar, a menu appears of your documents. I

have my Word 2013 Jump List displayed at right. I set the

number of items to view to 30. Notice the Pinned area. One of

the criticisms of using previous versions of Windows is knowing

where your files are stored. Throughout the new Operating

System you my hover over a file and a screen tip appears

alerting you to the location of the file. I have my Windows 8

manual file’s location displayed here as I hover over the file in

my Taskbar. You don’t need to click or search to know where

your file resides, simply hover your cursor over the file and

there’s the screen tip .

As you can see adding Apps to your Taskbar greatly increases

your efficiency in using your favorite programs and files like

never before. The need to use Window’s File Explorer or opening the App first to open a

folder, website, or file reduces with these new quick methods of Pining and using Jump Lists

in Windows.

Hot Tip: You may rearrange your Taskbar apps by clicking and dragging (or tap and

drag for touchscreens) them to where you want to move the app.

Another terrific feature in Windows is when you have apps and files open, the Taskbar

provides Thumbnails or Snapshots of the files for you to hover and see previews of your files

or click and maneuver to the opened files

and you may close the files, too. As

displayed at right, when I hover over the

Word button previews of my open files

appear and when I hover over a snapshot,

the close button and Screen Tip appear.

As you move across the snapshots, previews

of the files appear for you to click and give the file focus for you to work. You don’t have to

have a program pinned on the Taskbar for this to work. Once you open a file, the

application’s button appears on the Taskbar.


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Preview/Show

Desktop

I don’t have Internet Explorer pinned, yet when I open

multiple websites using Internet Explorer here are the

snapshots I receive when my cursor hovers the Internet

Explorer button. I may click on any preview to open the

website.

As with pinned programs, you may right click on the button for

a convenient short cut menu allowing you to pin your program and to view Frequent or

Recent files. My shortcut menu for Internet Explorer appears here at right.

Peek at the Desktop

I set my Peek

feature earlier in

the Taskbar and

Navigation

properties box

and the Taskbar tab.; this options displays above. The Peek

is a nice feature that as you are working in an application and

want to view your desktop without leaving the application the

Show Desktop/ Peek button which is located at the end of

the taskbar and to the right of the time/date. When you

hover the end of your taskbar, which is my lower right corner of my screen next to date and

time, my Desktop appears as a preview. If you click this area, the Desktop activates for you

to use the Desktop and if you click the area a third time you return to your application. This

is a quick way to maneuver from applications to the Desktop effortlessly. In essence, you

minimize all of your applications by clicking the Peek button once and then maximize them

again with another click. Since this may annoy some people, this feature may not be on by

default for you in Windows 8.

Important Notes:

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_______


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The Windows 8 Ribbon and Fi le Explorer

For those of us that have used Microsoft Office since 2007, we are accustom to

the Ribbon which replaces the Menu Bar. Windows 8 has adopted the Ribbon

interface rather than the Menu bar. Microsoft replaces the name Windows

Explorer with the name File Explorer. When you click the File Explorer button

on your Desktop, Windows 8 produces your Libraries, Documents or other view with

the new Ribbon interface.

With the Ribbon at the top of your screen you will see the Quick Access Toolbar another

Microsoft Office feature. My Quick Access Toolbar displays at right. I have clicked the arrow

at the end of the toolbar and from the cascading menu, I have added all of these commands

by clicking them to produce the check mark. I am changing the location of my Quick Access

Toolbar to be below the Ribbon making it easier for me to see and

navigate to this toolbar. One of the reasons I like using my Quick Access

Toolbar is that it doesn’t change as I click and work with the Tabs in

the Ribbon.

Hot Tip! The Quick Access Toolbar – Gone is the standard

toolbar and here is the Quick Access Toolbar. The Quick Access

toolbar is always on your screen and has my favorite commands

Rename, Delete, but my #1 favorite command is here: Undo!


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Title Bar

Tabs

Groups contains

Command Buttons.

Quick Access

Toolbar (moved

below the Ribbon)

Address Bar

The Ribbon is below your Title bar at the top of your screen and contains Tabs, such as

Home, Share, and View. The Tabs contain Groups, such as Clipboard, Organize, and New.

Groups contain Command buttons. I have moved my Quick Access Toolbar below the

Ribbon and below the Quick Access

Toolbar is the Address Bar.

Unlike the Menu Bar, when you clicked an item the cascading menu was vertical and text

oriented, the Ribbon is horizontal and graphical. The Ribbon does take up more space on

your screen, so you may minimize the Ribbon and use it has you did the Menu Bar. Here are

the ways to minimize/restore the Ribbon:

Hot Tips! Ways to minimize and to scroll the Ribbon:

The new Minimize Ribbon arrow at the top of your window next to the

Help button. The Minimize the Ribbon button appears at right. With the

Ribbon minimized the button becomes the Expand the Ribbon button.

To minimize the ribbon double click the active Tab’s Name, such as Home,

View. Double clicking a tab expands/minimizes the ribbon, too.

Right click on any tab on the Ribbon and from the short cut menu choose

Minimize the Ribbon at the bottom of the menu.

Keyboard shortcut of CTRL + F1 – when you press your CTRL (Control) and

the F1 keys simultaneously on your keyboard Windows minimizes and

expands your Ribbon, too.

If you have a scroll wheel/button on your mouse and the Ribbon is NOT minimized,

you may scroll through the different tabs rather than clicking the tab. Moving

your cursor or your focus to the Ribbon and rolling your scrolling button/wheel up

or down changes the tabs for you! You must first have your cursor on a tab for this

to work; otherwise, the application will scroll through your file – not the Ribbon.


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Another item at the upper left corner of your Title Bar is the Control menu that activates

when you click the button displayed at right. This menu provides quick

access to Size, Minimize, Maximize, or Close. The Home, Share, and

View tabs are standard throughout Windows 8 but other tabs may appear

depending upon the item you are using, such as a Picture folder or the

Control Panel. The Computer Ribbon appears below and only has the

Computer Tab and View Tab. The Computer tab offers many quick ways

to accomplish tasks, such as mapping a network drive or activating the

Control panel.

You will find using

the Ribbon

productive but

getting accustom

to all of the

options and where

they are will take

some time.

One consistent tab throughout the Ribbon is the File

tab. The File tab offers Frequent places for you to

pin your often used Folders and ability to open the

application in a new window so you may view two

folders side-by-side; this works if you want to look at

the same folder in two separate panes and positioned

however you like.

Let’s overview each of the most common tabs in the

Ribbon: Home, Share, and View.

Home – It’s good to be home!

The Home Tab offers many popular tasks and commands to use. The Home tab prevents us

from having to use shortcut menus or open folder after folder until we get to the task we

need to perform. Here are common commands that people use in Windows 8’s Ribbon.


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Clipboard Group

The Clipboard group contains good, old Copy, Cut, and Paste buttons for you to use.

Copy Path – to copy the current location of your file or folder to paste in an email or other

application – this displays exactly where Windows stores your file/folder. Here’s my path for

this document’s folder after I use the Copy path button and paste it "C:\Users\Greg

Creech\Documents\Windows 8".

Organize Group

Move to and Copy to – This menu allows you to Move (cut) or Copy (duplicate) selected

files/folders to your often used folders. The last item in the menu is Choose location for you

to browse where you want to move/copy the file/folders.

Delete – This menu allows you to send your selected files/folders to the recycling bin or

permanently delete them (OOPS!).

Rename – Rename is just that has been around forever and allows you to change the name of

your file/folder.

New Group

New Folder and New Item – These allow you to create a new, blank folder or using New

item’s menu a different type of file based on an app, such as Excel, or Word.

Easy access – Easy access provides ways of opening your file using Favorites, Pinning the

Start menu, or including in a Library.

Open Group

Properties – The Properties button and menu opens the extensive Properties dialogue box

which contains important information about the file/folder, such as file size, location, and

making the selected item hidden or read-only. Several of these options are available in

Ribbon without using this box. For example, we will use the View Tab to hide and unhide

selected items.

Open, Edit and History – Depending upon the type of folder or file you have selected these

options and menus change. For example, if I have an Excel file selected, the Open menu

allows me to open the file in spreadsheets applications, including Excel or Microsoft Works

Spreadsheet. You can turn on File History if you like to keep backups of your important files

to other locations.


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Select Group

Selections allow you to select ALL of your items in the current folder or window or to have

nothing selected. Invert selection changes the view from those you have selected to

unselected and vice versa.

Share – It’s nice to share

The Share Tab provides ways of sharing your selected items electronically, with other

devices, or other people.

Send Group

This activates other

programs to email, zip,

print, fax, or burn the

folders/files to a CD.

Share with – This creates menus for you to share your information with computers, servers,

or people on a network, homegroup, or other users that have access to your computer.

I’ll leave the Advanced security button and dialogue box to your network and computer data

geeks.

View Tab

Panes Group - Organizing your Window Panes

While File Explorer may get busy with all of the panes available, you can turn them on and

off using the Panes Group. You may quickly turn on or off the Preview/Details Pane using

the Preview or Details Pane button; the area at the right of your screen is the

Details/Preview Pane area. I have labeled the various panes and items for you below. Notice

the two buttons in the lower right corner. These are quick view buttons to toggle between

Details or Large thumbnails views. If you want to not have the preview or details pane

appear, then click the active button and the pane closes – click your preview or details button

again and it reappears.


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Ribbon and Quick

Access Toolbar

Navigation

Pane Details/Preview

Pane

Status Bar and Quick view buttons

Main Window in

Details View

The Navigation Pane button in the View Tab offers you the ability to show or

hide the Navigation Pane and other directories you want to view in your

Navigation Pane. As you can tell, I tend to be a resource “pig” having all of my

options selected. I particularly like having my Favorites showing at the top of

my Navigation Pane.

Hot Tip: You may click and drag a folder to your Favorites area, this

creates a link to your folder. Clicking and dragging a folder to Favorites does

not move or copy the folder but as your screen tip displays as you click and

drag “Create link in Favorites”. This is a quick and easy way to get to your

often used folders. You may click and drag to rearrange your Favorites items, too.


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Layout Group – Formerly known as Views

The command buttons in the Layout group were different ways of viewing our information

using the View item in the Menu bar, so they were referred to as Views. Now, since we have

a View tab, the Layout Group contains ways of displaying our information in some neat and

productive ways. Let’s start with my favorite layout/view – Details.

It’s is all in the details – Details Layout

Here are some of my favorite reasons for using the Details Layout:

The Details views as displayed in the above photo allows you to quickly

sort your folders and files by clicking the column header, such as Name,

Date modified, and Type. You can click to sort Ascend your information

or click the heading again to sort your information in descending order.

You may rearrange the columns by clicking and dragging the column

header to the right or left to reposition your column.

You can right click on a column header and add or remove columns, such

as Tag, Author, and so on. I will add the Date Created column to my

details view through the short cut menu. If you click the More. . . item,

you will receive MANY more properties or columns to display – there is no

shortage here.

You may position your cursor between two columns at the vertical stripe

separator and when the double headed arrow appears, double click to

auto fit the column for you or you may click and drag the double headed

arrow in or out to widen or lessen your column width. Using the column

header’s short cut menu you may Fit your current column or All columns as displayed

at the top of the menu here.


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Finally, you may filter easily and quickly in the details view.

As displayed here, I have clicked the column header filter drop

down for Name to filter on certain numbers or group of letters

for the folder/file name and I have clicked the Date’s arrow too

to illustrate the many ways of filtering your

information based on relative dates. When

you click the box for “Select a date or date

range”, you may use the Calendar to choose

the date or if you click the Calendar’s

heading you may choose the month, if you

click the calendar heading again you may

choose the year. This is a very helpful and

easy tool to view your items by many different dates and date ranges. The Type

column heading is great to restrict the type of files you wish to view.

None of the other views is going to offer this much power and efficiency in organizing and

viewing your information. So, I will use the All Powerful Details view to organize my data and

then I’ll switch my layout to Tiles, List, etc. for displaying the filtered and sorted files and

folders.

Icon Layouts

For photos and graphic folders I use the Extra large or Large icons (thumbnails) view, since

I’m over 55, the Small and Medium icon views don’t do me much good.

List, Tiles and Content Layouts

These are good for files and folders that are not graphical and are easier to view your

information than Details. List compacts your information very nicely and Tiles takes less

space as well. Content provides a thumbnail of your files/folders with basic information

about the folder and file with much white space so the screen is

not so “busy”.

Current View

Sort by

When you are not using the Details view, you can Sort by using

the Current View and the Sort by menu. This displays the

columns or ways of viewing your information by Date, Type,

Size, etc. The Ascending and Descending options are in the

menu for you, too.


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Group by

This works like the filter in our Details View and limits the items you view by Alphabet,

Dates, and other areas. The option of None in the Group by menu is helpful when you have

Grouped your items and want to return to a normal view.

Only the Details layout uses the Add Columns and Size all columns to fit buttons and menus

in the Current View Group.

Show/Hide Group

This group is great for viewing or hiding your selected files/folders plus I like knowing my file

extensions, especially in using various Office versions and photo apps. The Hot Tip below

shows my file extensions and that I’m using check marks to select my files/folders and other

items.

Hot Tip! New way to select files. There is another new feature introduced in

Vista that I really like in selecting my files and folders and that is having a small

check box appear for me to use in selecting

one or many files/folders. This is particularly

helpful when selecting items that are not

continuous. In the past we used the CTRL

(Control) Key and then clicked files that were

not continuous in order to select them; this

CTRL + Click method still works great for you.

While the files and folders continue to

highlight with your selection having a check

mark to ensure my selection doesn’t hurt me either. I recommend giving this a try

if this is not on by default. I have a sample of the check marks displaying that have

three files selecting and ready for moving, duplicating, opening, and so on and on.

You should try the Item check boxes option in the Show/hide group of the View

tab as displayed here in selecting your files and remember your CTRL + Click

keyboard shortcut.

Options and More Options

The only option you have is to activate your Folder Options Dialogue box and tabs through

the Options menu item Change folder and search options. Listed below are the tabs in the

Folder Options Dialogue box with explanations of important items, some of which are

available on the Ribbon that we have learned.


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Folder Options – Generic items

The Folder Options dialogue box opens at the General Tab.

From here you may determine if you want folders in separate

windows or replace your existing window. After all of these

years, I still have not grown accustomed to Single clicking to

open files, programs or folders, although I am comfortable in

single clicking for hyperlinks, etc. Since very old habits die

hard, I keep my Double click to open an item selected. You

may prefer the new generation of Single clicking. The

Navigation pane section offers you the ability view favorites,

all folders, and libraries in the Navigation Pane and to

automatically expand your current folder. In previous versions

of Windows the plus(+) symbol was used for expand and the

minus (-) symbol was used for collapse. Windows now uses

arrow to help with expand and collapse. Clicking the arrow to

the right of the folder expands the contents or collapses the

contents of the folder. You will see these collapse and

expand arrows throughout the new operating system. You

should set your General options here and click Apply. Apply will make your changes and if

you don’t like them you can change the option back before closing the dialogue box.


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Folder Options – A View from the Top

There are many new options from which to choose in

Windows – this should be at the top of your option list to

review as you convert to Windows 8.1. Some of these options

appear in the Ribbon and the View tab as we previously

discussed, such as Show hidden items and using Check boxes

to select items. These are important items to know, to use,

and to abuse. Particularly important is the Apply to Folders

button, you can set ALL of your folders with the current view

of the open and active folder in which you are working. As

you know I like using the Details view, so that is my default

view for my folders. Clicking Reset returns your folder views

to the factory standards. In the Advanced settings area,

there are some items I recommend changing. First, I like

viewing all of my drives so I have unchecked the Hide empty

drives item. Another important option is the file extensions,

I like knowing my Office 97-2003 documents separate from

my Office 2007/2010 files and other files types of which

I’m not aware. Just because Windows knows the

extensions for files doesn’t mean I know all of the file

types. By deselecting this helps me know the type of

file as does the icon representing the application;

however, the icons don’t help someone, like me, with

poor eye-sight and over the age of 50. When you see

your files the extension will appear with the file name,

i.e. Office 2010.docx or Budget.xlsx; otherwise the

system would display Office 2010 and Budget. This

option is in the View tab of our Windows Ribbon, too.

Folder Options – The Search is on

Search offers technical information about searching that I

leave alone, especially the indexing feature which helps

the terrific speed at which Windows will locate your search

criteria. We will look at the new Search Tab in the Ribbon

next.

After making all of your selections, you may click Apply or

Click OK. Clicking OK applies your items and closes the

dialogue box.


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Key Tips

While I have concentrated on using the mouse and touchscreen, there are

new ways to use your keyboard for shortcuts. We have used the keyboard

combination of CTRL + a key, such as CTRL + A to select all. In Office 2007,

Microsoft Office introduced Key Tips which appear when you press the F10

key or the ALT key on your keyboard. As displayed at right, after I press my

F10 or ALT key the labels for my tabs and Quick Access Toolbar appear. If I

press H for the Home Tab, the

tab activates with Key Tips for

the Home Tab’s command

buttons. As pictured here I can

press D to activate the Delete

menu or press SA to select all

of my items in the pane below.

Using Key Tips alleviates the need to use the mouse or touchscreen to use your favorite

commands and tabs. So if you are a keyboard fanatic, you’ll love using key tips and not touch

a screen or mouse to perform your actions in using th Ribbon.


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Search - Seek and you wil l f ind

At last! A Search system that actually works and is fast (I promise). With Windows 7,

Microsoft made terrific improvements with searching and the features are even better in

Windows 8.

We will first search using the File Explorer and then we will search using the Charms Bar or

Start button’s short cut menu.

File Explorer Search –

The Search box circled above is at the top, right corner of your File Explorer pane. You may

change the width of the Search box and Address bar by positioning your cursor between the

Address bar and the Search box and a double headed arrow appears allowing you to click

and drag to widen or shrink the boxes.

The Groups and Command buttons are briefly described here.

Location – The buttons in this group allow you to determine where Windows will search for

your files/folders based on Name, Date, Size, Type of File and so on.

Refine – The Refine Group contains important buttons and menus for you to establish the

criteria you want for your name search. The Date modified offers dates such as Last Week,

This Week, etc. The Kind and Size buttons and associated menu options allow you to find

certain types of files/folders and the size of the files/folders.

Options – The Options Group has some of the

same items as we saw in our Folder Options

dialogue box and Search Tab. I use Recent

searches and Save search quite often. When I

complete my search, I click Close search.

At right, I am searching in my Documents

folder/directory for Window 8.1 as a Document file


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and Modified this year. You can open the file or folder from this pane by double clicking the

file/folder.

Windows Search

One of the important items that we covered earlier was right clicking the

Start tile/button on your desktop and from the shortcut menu navigate to

powerful and productive tools in Windows. This mini Start menu contains

Search as pictured at right. Also, we learned about the Charms Bar and

Search is the first item in the Charms bar with the magnifying glass.

After activating search, the Search Pane appears for you to decide where you

want your search by using the cascading menu arrow next to Everywhere. I’m changing

mine to files to search for Windows 8.1. After typing the name I want to search, I

press enter and a File Results pane appears for my search text, in this case Windows

8.1. These files are ones that use often the other 84 documents

are some that Windows created as RTF files. As you start typing

Windows will provide the files (or other items) below your Search

box.

Here is my search results pane as I enter Windows in the Search

box and Search Everywhere.


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Manage and Play Tabs

As with many areas of using Windows, there are too many options and now too many tabs!

Depending on the type of item you are using or viewing in the File Explorer panes, you may

see a Manage tab that appears for you to use some neat and powerful tools. I have displayed

here the Picture Tools Manage Tab and Drive Tools Manage Tab. With these Tabs you can

perform basic tools for your photos and your disk drives. With the managing your photos you

can rotate your selected photos, see them as a Slide Show or set as a background for your

computer.

The Drive tools are good to perform system maintenance for Optimzing and Cleaningup your

computer drives. STAY AWAY FROM FORMAT! You should not format your hard drive and be

careful of using this tool unless you are an experienced technology professional. The Media

Group is great for CD/DVDs and drives of this type.

Music and Video have the Music/Video Tools with the Play Tab for you to play your audio

and video files.


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Librar ies

Just like the old brick and mortar libraries, Windows 8 Libraries are a collection of

documents that are stored in a neat

fashion regardless of where the

folder resides. By default, Windows

contains four Libraries: Documents,

Pictures, Music, and Videos. Like

categorizing books and written

documents in an analog library,

Windows categorizes documents by

file type in the digital library. The

extensions and file type determines

where Windows stores the folder and

files for the Library. The

improvement of using Libraries

versus the old fashion My

Documents, Video, Music, and other

folders is Libraries display the

folder regardless of location,

such as on a server, another

computer, Public Folder and so

on. You can create your own

Library by right clicking on the

Library icon in File Explorer

for a Shortcut menu. From the

Shortcut Menu you may trace to

New and from the fly out menu

click Library. As displayed at right, I am creating my own library named

Greg. When Windows creates your Library, you may open your empty

library and click the Include a folder to add folders to your Library.

When you right click on your Library and click Properties, the Library

Properties features the Add . . . for you to include a folder from your

Network, other computers, servers, and so on. While you may Optimize

the library for specific items, such as Music, Pictures, Documents, and

Videos; I have kept my General Items and I have added My Videos and My

Documents folders to the Library and these folders do not need to reside

on my hard drive for my Library to collect them.

You should visit the Windows File Libraries early and often and create

your own Library.


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Navigation in F i le Explorer

Using the enhanced Address bar introduced in Vista took some getting use to for me. Using

the Up One Level button became habit forming for me and is

back in Windows 8. However, once I learned the new ways of

navigating using the Address bar, I have formed new habits of

moving around in my Desktop, Libraries, Files, Folders, etc.

You may certainly use the Navigation Pane to move around but

you may want to not show the pane in your Layout Options.

You can navigate using the Address bar as displayed here. You

may click on an arrow to select the Folder/File you wish to

activate. As displayed above, I can quickly navigate to my

folders under the Documents directory/folder through the drop

down list. By clicking the arrow associated with those

directories, I can quickly go to my other Libraries, Desktop, or

Documents. Once you click to activate a drop down list, you

view the other directories/folder list by

hovering your cursor over them, too; no

need to click after you have clicked

once. As I hover my cursor over the top

level folder (circled at right) my

Desktop, Libraries, Network, Control

Panel, etc. displays for me to navigate

to those items.

If you are old fashioned and like me, old enough to remember the drive/directory structure

(path) as displayed here, you may type your folder/file location or use this path in other

documents. Clicking in the Address box or

pressing the ALT + D key displays the

traditional folder/file path structure with a

colon and slashes.

Next to the Address bar are some very helpful buttons for navigating back,

forward, to recent places, and up through your drives, directories, and

folders. The Up One Level arrow button back tracks through your location

and takes you up your parent folders and drives. You may use the first

button the back button to return to your previous locations. The Recent places arrow traces

your history for your current session of using File Explorer and provides a list of locations you

have been (duh?). The Back and Forward buttons with the Recent places button make

navigating in Windows a breeze.

Have refreshing experience! The Refresh button is at the end of the Address bar. Files and

Folders may change while you are using File Explorer pressing this button ensures you have


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the latest information. The F5 key is the keyboard shortcut for refresh while using File

Explorer.

Hot Tip – Keyboard Shortcut for Moving Up your folders: You may use the keyboard

shortcut of pressing the Alt key and the Up arrow key together to move up your

folders/directories. Unfortunately, the Alt and Down arrow keys will not move down your

list. You may use your Back and Forward buttons, too, to navigate through your actions

and directories/folders.

Another very old habit is having two panes (or more) of the File Explorer open for me to

move or copy folders and files (Remember File Manager in Windows 3.1!?). Once you have

File Explorer open in one pane, you may activate another pane through the File Menu and

click Open in New Window and choose Open in New Window again. Having two panes to

move and copy files for me is easier than trying to accomplish this using the Navigation and

Contents pane in one File Explorer pane. Also, I may need to compare the contents of

separate drives/folders on one screen in two panes.

Now, we will learn a new feature that will help with having the two panes open and having

them side-by-side using the Windows 7 Snap feature which carries over to Windows 8. Then

we will familiarize ourselves with selecting files and folders in a variety of ways.

I t ’s a Snap !

A new Windows 7 Snap feature carries over to Windows

8 and allows you to position your panes side-by-side,

vertically, or maximize your screen. When you click on

a title bar of an application you may move the pane to

the side of your screen (left or right) and the pane will

“snap” into place. Then you may click on another

application’s title bar and click and drag it to the

opposite edge of your screen and it will “snap” into

place. This reduces the need to resize your panes and

click and drag a lot to get the Window panes side-by-

side. Notice as I click on this document’s title bar and

drag it to the left of my desktop an outline appears in

the background – this is illustrating that my document

is ready to snap into place when I release my mouse

button.


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Hot Tip – Snap to it – Keyboard Shortcuts: You can use keyboard shortcuts to restore

and to snap to the right and left, too. Pressing the Windows logo key and your left

arrow key snaps your window pane to the left of you desktop and Pressing the Windows

logo key and your right arrow key snaps your window pane to the right of your

desktop. As you press your Windows Key and use the Right or Left arrow keys on your

active pane, the pane toggles from right, to restore, to left. Now, you are ready to

compare your documents, files or to perform other actions, such as copying files and

folders. You may use the Windows key and the Up arrow to maximize your screen, too,

and the Windows Key and the Down arrow key to restore your screen. If you continue to

press the Windows Key and the Down arrow, Windows will minimize the pane.

Next, I click on another Title bar of a file and drag it to the right of my screen and when the

outline appears I release my mouse button and now I have my two panes side by side for me

to compare, move, copy, view, and so on with the two files.

If you click on a Title bar and drag the program, file, etc. to the top of your screen the pane

automatically Maximizes for you. You may use the old fashion way of double clicking a Title

bar to maximize and to resize for you, too. Or you can still use the Maximize/Restore

buttons at the top right on your Title bar next to your close button. I have found snap easy to

use once I figured out what in the world was going on when I clicked on a title bar to move it.

You can vertically snap, too. We have become accustomed to reading our information

vertically without changing the width – particularly for web sites. You can vertically snap by

moving your cursor to the top or bottom border of your pane and with the double headed

arrow click and drag to the top or bottom of your desktop and the pane will snap to the entire

length of your monitor without changing the width.

Not all programs and applications have this ability, especially some of the legacy

programs and applications. So, if you try to snap and

the application/pane won’t snap – it isn’t you – it’s the

application.

How to turn the darn thing off! If this annoys you, you

can go to the Ease of Access Center in the Control

panel and the Make the mouse easier to use section.

Select the Prevent windows from being automatically

arranged when moved to the edge of the screen (this is

snap) in the Make it easier to manage windows section. I

have circled the item here for you; this feature is on by

the default. But, try it first, you might like it once you

learn how to control snap and lean how to view the

outline associated with snap.


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Shake I t , Baby, Shake I t and

Arranging your Desktop i tems!

For old timers like me you may remember the old rock and roll song, “Shake, Rattle, and

Roll”, well, Windows 7 and 8 has Shake, Snap, and Snip! We just learned to Snap, now we

will learn to Shake, and later we will Snip. This is another item that if you are not aware of

Shake and accidentally Shake; you’ll wonder what Windows did with your files. Shake allows

you to minimize all of your open files at once, EXCEPT the active file in which you are

working. This is tricky if you are not good with a mouse, so here’s a Hot Tip for you.

Hot Tip – Shake it – Keyboard Shortcuts: You can use keyboard shortcuts to Minimize

and restore all of your open and active panes, too, EXCEPT the open and active window in

which you are working. Pressing the Windows logo key and the Home key minimizes

all of your open and active files (that are not already minimized). To restore the files

back to your Desktop – press the Windows logo key and the Home key again and your

files are back as they were.

You may use the good old shortcut of right clicking your Taskbar and from the

Shortcut menu Cascade, Stack, or Show your windows Side by side. After

choosing Cascade or another display, you may use your Shake feature (click and

drag the Title bar back and forth rapidly) by clicking a Title bar and shaking it

to minimize all of the other files. To restore the files back to the display you

can click the Title Bar of your active file and quickly shake (click and drag the

Title bar back and forth rapidly) the files restore for you. If you are “mouse

challenged, you may use the keyboard shortcuts described above. I am not adept at using this

feature, but I have accidentally “shaken” the title bar and wondered what happened to my

files.

Hot Tip – Minimize ALL windows – Keyboard Shortcuts: You can use keyboard

shortcuts to Minimize all of your window and restore all of your open and active panes,

too. Pressing the Windows logo key and the M key minimizes all of your open and

active files (that are not minimized). To restore the files back to your Desktop – press the

Windows logo key , the SHIFT key, and the M key again and your files are back as they

were.


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I have my windows in a Cascade view here, I can

“shake” the title bar of one these files and the

others minimize. I can click and shake the title bar

again and the files restore just as they appear

here. I can use my keyboard shortcuts, too.

Select ing f i les, fo lders,

and i tems

New with Windows is the ability to select your files, folders, and items using check marks

which we have previewed earlier. Having an additional way, other than highlighting a file, to

know that you have an item selected is always helpful for me. This gives an extra indication

that you have items select, especially if I’m deleting information. In a previous section on

folder options, I outlined how to activate or deactivate this feature. This may be on by

default for you. The many ways of selecting files/folders are still around.

Here are the primary ways of selecting files/folders, etc. to prepare for moving, copying,

opening, and performing other actions:

Click one file to select it and press the shift button then click another file to select

the files contiguously,

Click one file to select it and press the CTRL button and with the CTRL button pressed

click other files to select them in a contiguous and non-contiguous manner,

Click in an empty area of File Explorer and as you Click and Drag Windows produces a

rectangle whatever that rectangle

touches selects for you.

This method is displayed at right. I click at the

lower right area of my pane and as I click and

drag up and over to the left the files select for

me. Notice that highlighting difference – the

darker blue is my selection rectangle and the

lighter highliting with the check marks are the

files I have selected. After selection of these

contiguous files, I can use the CTRL key and

click to deselect the files I no longer want

selected. See how the check mark helps in knowing your files, folders, etc. are selected.

Hot Tip! Using Check Marks. You may select files, folders, drives, and so on and on

using Check Marks. Check Marks appear for you when you hover over an item so they are


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not distracting in your views. You may use the check mark by clicking the box to select

files and the check apears. This is terrific for selecting your files and folders individually,

contiguously, or in a range.

Good old Copy/Cut and Paste are still around and here are the ways you can copy and paste

in File Explorer:

Use the keyboard shortcuts of CTRL+X for Cut, CTRL+C for Copy, and CTRL+V for

Paste.

Use the Home Tab in the Ribbon and the Cut, Copy, or Paste command buttons.

Use your Right Click shortcut menu on selected items. Right click the file retrieving

the shortcut menu then click Copy/Cut, then navigate to where you want to copy/moe

the files and right click and click Paste.

Click and drag to move files/folders in the same drive. If you click and drag

files/folders to other drives, such as a flash drive, CD/DVD drive, or server, the items

are copied. If you want to copy the selected items in the same drive but a different

folder, you press the CTRL key as you click and drag to the receiving folder, after

releasing your mouse button the items copy to the destination folder.

Practice makes Perfect – Here’s some suggest exercises to help you learn.

1. Open several files and practice snapping two files vertically side by side. For example,

using Outlook snap your calendar on one side of the screen and then snap an Outlook

email on the other side of the screen. Compare two Word documents side-by-side

using Snap. Open File Explorer and My Computer and Snap them Side-by-Side and

notice how you may view different drives and folders. Practice copying files from one

folder to another.

2. Use different methods of selecting your files and folders.

3. Use different methods of copying your files and folders to other drives and devices to

create a backup.

4. Snap a file for maximizations by dragging the title bar to the top of your screen and

double click a title bar to restore the file.

5. Have a pane in a restore state and using the vertical snap – click and drag the bottom

border of the pane until it snaps vertically the length of your screen.

6. With multiple files open use your shortcut menu on your Taskbar by right clicking an

empty area of the Taskbar and from the menu choose Cascade.

7. With your windows in a Cascade view, click the title bar of one of the files and shake

it – the other files minimize for you.

8. With your files minimized, except for your current and active file, press the Windows

Logo Key and the Home key to restore your files in the Cascade view.

9. Practice, Practice, Practice – Shake, Snap, and Whip your Desktop Items into Shape!


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The Windows Salute !

As we have learned, I have pressed the Alt and Tab keys simultaneously to toggle through my

Desktop, Open Files, and Programs since 1991 with Window 3.1. Also, I have used the

Windows Three Fingered Salute (CTRL and Alt and Delete keys pressed together) to

activate the Task Manager for many years. Thankfully these are still

available. The differences are the appearance and growth of the

computer (Task Manager).

Task Manager (Windows Three Fingered Salute)

While my need to use the CTRL + Alt + Del keys have lessened, I still

need to use these keys to activate my Task Manager when an unruly

program or stubborn Printer is unresponsive (Imagine!). The CTRL +

Alt + Delete keys activates a menu for you to choose the Task

Manager, Lock, Sign out, or Switch User. I usually activate my task

manager as displayed here. At times the Status may be unresponsive

or the status may say running by the program isn’t running. I select

the errant program/file and click the End Task button. The more

details arrow button provides more tabs and

functionality as displayed at right. While I use the other

tabs such as Startup and Performance, I generally use

the main Task Manager window and the End Task

button.

Hot Tip! You can activate the Task Manager

directly bypassing the menu with the CTRL + SHIFT +

ESC keys. Another neat three fingered Windows

Salute! But, using the CTRL + ALT + DEL keys helps

for Signing Off and Switching Users quickly.


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Notification Area – Formerly known as System Tray

Alas, beginning with Windows 7, the Notification Area replaces the old System Tray. The

System Tray did not allow customizing as the Notification Area does. Windows 8 allows you

to enable notifications, icons, and other actions to suit your needs. The

Notification Area displays where the former System Tray resided –

next to the Time/Date. The Notification Area contains Systems icons,

such as the Action Center, Network Center, Power Plan, Master

Volume and may contain others depending upon your computer. When

you click the arrow in the Notification Area, all of your hidden icons

appear. Clicking the Customize link displays the Notification Area

Icons pane for you to select the items you want to appear. You may

use the Taskbar properties pane to activate the Notification Area

Icons, too.

Using the Notification Area Icons pane,

allows selecting the buttons you want and

have them display when you want. If you

select Show icon and notifications, the

icon appears in your Navigation Pane as it

did in the System Tray. If you select Hide

icon and notifications, the icon will

appear in your menu when you click the

Notification arrow. If you choose only

notifications, you will receive a balloon

alert without the icon. If you enable the

“Always show all icons and notifications

on the taskbar” ALL of your items display

as in the old System Tray – this will

probably crowd your taskbar unless you

change your settings to Only show

notifications. The Notification Area Icons

pane allows you to activate the System

icon pane to turn these important items on

or off and you may return the Notification

Area back to the factory standard by

clicking the “Restore default icon

behaviors”.

As you add programs, devices, and tools to your computer your Notification Area may

incorporate needed icons that the device or program uses for updates, alerts, and other

items.


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Hot Tip! When you use a Flash/USB/Thumb Drive

(whatever you prefer to call this little miracle drive) or

other external drive device, you should use this

Notification area to Eject the Flash/USB drive safely. When

I press the Notification Area’s arrow and receive the menu

at right, I may click the USB/Flash drive button (the last

one in my menu and circled for you) and the screen tip

appears. Click this will allow you to choose to eject the

device safely or will alert you that the device is in use. I

encourage you to practice safe computing by ejecting the drive correctly rather than

yanking the drive from the USB port which we are tempted to do, but doing so may

corrupt the drive and/or files/folders. Better safe, than sorry.

Important Notes:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________


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Desktop Customizat ion

With the advent of Window 3.1 we learned how to use Screen Savers, Wallpaper, and Color

Schemes. As we migrate through the different versions of the Windows’ Operating Systems,

we want to customize our Desktop with the latest and greatest Themes,

Screen Savers, Wallpaper, and other settings to make our computing

experience more enjoyable and personable. Starting with Windows 7,

Windows has some terrific new color themes, Screen Savers, Wallpaper,

and ways of customizing these features for your tastes. As in many areas

of Windows, the Control Panel handles Desktop customization for us;

however, as in other areas of the Control Panel you do not have to use

the Control Panel to get to the panes that will help you. When you right

click on an empty area of your desktop or tap and hold on a touchscreen,

a shortcut menu appears for you as displayed at right. You may change

your Screen Resolution and Personalize your desktop settings. We will

look at these items and the View and Sort by options on this menu

in this section.

The Desktop shortcut menu also provides ways of quickly creating

New items, such as folders, Microsoft Office documents, and

contacts. The New item in the short cut menu has the Shortcut

feature, which opens another pane for you to type the location of

the file/folder or browse to the file/folder for which you want to

create a shortcut.

Desktop Shortcuts

As described in the previous paragraph, one of the most popular

ways of customizing the Windows’ Desktop is using icons for

shortcuts to activate programs, files, and folders. In fact, this is so popular for some folks

that you can’t see the Desktop’s background for ALL of the shortcuts that display on their

screen! I admit I’m guilty of this; however, since Windows 8 has the Start Screen and the

Desktop Taskbar to pin files and programs and to use the Jump Lists, my Desktop screen is

far less busy than in previous versions of Windows. While the Start screen lessens my need

to create multiple desktop shortcuts in Windows 8, I still enjoy the convenience of Desktop

Shortcuts. Here’s a couple of ways of creating shortcuts to your favorite program, files, and

folders.


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One of the most popular ways of creating a Desktop

shortcut is to right click on a file, folder, or program in

File Explorer and from the shortcut menu trace to Send to

and from the fly out menu choose Desktop (create

shortcut). As displayed at right, I right clicked on my

Windows 8 folder and from the shortcut menu traced to

Send to and the fly out menu displays options that I may

send this folder to other areas of my computer or flash

drive.

Another popular way of creating a Desktop shortcut is to

right click on the file, folder, or program and as you have

your right mouse button pressed drag the item to the

desktop and the short cut menu here appears for you to

choose Create Shortcut here. This is particularly helpful when you

are viewing the folder or file in File Explorer – right click the file

and drag it to an empty are of your desktop and you may create the

shortcut from the menu displayed at right.

BE CAREFUL! You should pay attention to the menu after you click

and drag to accidentally move or copy the file to the desktop using

these methods is very easy to do; therefore, instead of creating a

shortcut you move or duplicate the file, folder, or program on the Desktop.

Hot Tip! Enlarging/Reducing your Desktop items - Zooming. If you have a scrolling

wheel on your mouse, you may press your CTRL (Control) Key on your keyboard and with

this (CTRL) key pressed roll your Scrolling wheel up to increase the size or roll the wheel

down to decrease the size of your desktop icons and shortcuts. This Zooms and scales

your Desktop icons and Shortcuts up or down depending on the direction you roll your

mouse wheel. You may need to select or highlight a desktop item in order for this to

work. This sizing method works in Microsoft Office and many applications, too, and

changes your zoom up or down!


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You can tell that a program, file, or folder is a shortcut by the arrow on

the icon or by right clicking the icon and activating Properties as I am

doing with my shortcut to my Windows 8 folder displayed here. The

Properties dialogue box contains the Shortcut Tab and the General

Tab displays the file type as a Shortcut (.lnk). If you don’t see the

Shortcut Tab or the Shortcut (.lnk) BE CAREFUL, your icon on the

desktop is not a shortcut but the real and actual program, file, or folder.

Deleting a shortcut from the Desktop is no problem - simply delete the

item from your shortcut menu or select it and press delete on the

keyboard; however, deleting the program, file, or folder using these

methods on the desktop is a problem especially if you ignore your

warnings and empty the Recycling Bin (OOPS! Your bad.).

Practice Makes Perfecdt - Your Turn – Shortcut!

1. Create your own shortcuts through the right click and drag method

and the Send to Desktop option using File Explorer.

2. Next, activate the Shortcut’s property dialogue box and review

the General and Shortcut tabs.

Hot Tip! Power of Properties – The Properties dialogue box

works on all drives, folders, files, etc. in Windows and offers ways

to quickly make a file Read-only, Hidden, and you can even

change the icon using one of the tabs in this great dialogue box.

Notice that it displays your location, size, and created, modified

and accessed dates. Here’s my Properties pane for my C Drive

displayed below. We looked at using the Properties button on our

Ribbon earlier.


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Personalization

Windows 7 and 8 add more punch and power to your ability to customize and enhance your

desktop and screen savers. As displayed below, when you activate the Personalization pane

through the Control Panel or by right clicking an empty area of your desktop, themes are

available for you to use and customize. I created my own theme as you will learn to

accomplish here. You should scroll through the themes and download additional themes from

the Microsoft website; I have download Australia and then modified it for the Unsaved Theme.

First, scroll through the various themes and select one that you like. After selecting your

theme, then you can modify it for a different background, color, sounds, and Screen Saver.

Your Turn – Choose a Theme

Using your Personalization Pane review all of the themes and choose several and notice the

changes that they make. Take time and use the themes to discover your favorites.

Important Notes:

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________


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Desktop Background

After selecting your theme, click the Desktop Background to select a picture or folder to

display. If you choose a single photo or graphic, the photo or graphic will be your Desktop

background formerly known as wallpaper. If you

select more than one photo or a folder using the

Browse button or click the photos you want in the

gallery, the Desktop Background becomes a slide

show. With multiple photos selected or an entire

folder, your timing becomes active. You can set

the Change picture every – item in various

increments and shuffle the photos in the folder.

You should choose how you want the picture to

display as a Fill, Fit, Stretch, and so on as

displayed here. The Desktop Background as a

Slide Show works the same as using the Screen

Saver slide show that has been around a few

years.

After choosing your Desktop Background, click the

Save changes button. Your theme becomes an Unsaved and modified theme. We will save

your theme after you finish customizing the theme with a different color and screen saver.

Hot Tip! Your Start screen can share your

Desktop background. In the Taskbar and Navigation

Properties dialogue box and the Navigation Tab we

learned earlier you may check the Show my

desktop background on Start and your Start screen

shares the Desktop background.

Color Schemes

Next your color scheme may change, using the

Personalization pane click the Color Scheme link and

your pallet opens for you to choose a color scheme. You

can alter the transparency and the color intensity using

the pane. If you really want to customize the color

scheme you may click on the Show Color Mixer.


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Sounds

When you click the Sound link in the main Personalization pane,

your Sounds Control Panel dialogue box appears. From here, you

may choose a different Sound theme and then apply your own sounds

to certain actions. I am using the Windows Default sound scheme,

but I have added sounds for closing programs and other items so the

word modified appears with my Sound scheme. I can save this

Sound Scheme as I have accomplished before with the Greg 1 Sound

Scheme pictured at right. You should try these different Sound

Schemes for some interesting (and perhaps annoying effects). You

are sure to find one that you like and then you may modify it to

create your own Sound Scheme.

Screen Saver

Once upon a time on a monitor long ago, the system used to “burn” images into our CRT

monitors if we left a program or pane open for a while without a Screen Saver, so Screen

Savers were needed. While the need to use a Screen Saver

has diminished over the years due to advancements in our

monitor’s technology, we still like to use the Screen Saver

for fun, protect our computer, and to hide our work when

we are away from our computer. Windows offers some of

our good old favorite Screen Savers, such as 3D Text and

Photo Gallery and adds some neat new Screen Savers, like

Bubbles. You may download additional Screen Savers,

BUT be very careful. Screen Savers are notorious for

viruses and malicious code (I got the Master Blaster virus

the day it came out through downloading a Screen Saver

and no antidote was available – OOPS! My computer,

Hewbert Packard, never recuperated fully). If you use the

Microsoft Online gallery, a virus scan performs for you. If

you use another vendor, ALWAYS run an up-to-date virus

scan before or as you download the screen saver. Trust

me, better safe screen saving than being sorry over your

screen saver.

The Screen Saver Settings pane allows you to choose a Screen Saver from your list. After

selecting your Screen Saver, you may click the Settings. . . button for additional settings,

such as if you choose the Photos you may select the Pictures folder through the Browse button

and change the timing of the Screen Saver or Shuffle your photos. Some Screen Savers do

not have Settings such as Bubbles. Depending upon the Screen Saver your Settings will

change and you should set the time when Windows will activate your screen saver.


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Another important setting is the “On resume, display logon screen” option. Clicking this to

activates added protection for your computer by requiring a password when you leave the

screen saver by touching your keyboard or moving your mouse. I’m sure you or your IT

associate has already set-up a strong password for your computer. If not, shame, shame,

shame. You may change or set-up your Password through User Accounts in the Control

Panel.

Other Important Desktop Settings

There are other Important Settings in the Main Personalization

Pane in the Navigation area at the Left of your

Personalization Theme area. These settings are displayed at

right for you to change your desktop icons, and mouse

pointer options. You should use these links to adjust your

desktop icons. After you click the Change Desktop icons item,

the Desktop icon tab opens for you to select and change your

desktop’s icons. I have all of them on my desktop and you can

change the icon from the default; I have changed Tony’s, my

Toshiba Laptop, icon. You may select a different icon/picture

for your desktop item using the Change Icon button and

associate menu.

Most importantly are the Mouse pointers, which will activate

your Mouse Properties dialogue box with several tabs for you

to review and set your options. The Mouse properties and

options allow you many selections for how you use your mouse. I have

changed my Button settings to allow ClickLock for me to select text and

other items without holding down my mouse button as I click and drag. I

have set my double click speed here, too. This is where you may change

your setting from Right handed to Left handed, too. The Pointers and

Pointer Options tabs allow you to change your pointers, pointer speed,

and other items. You should review this based upon the mouse and touch

pad you are using.

Your Theme Park!

Customize your theme with a new desktop background, a modified color scheme, different

sounds, and set your screen saver. Review the Mouse Options and set your Desktop icons.

Create your own theme and save it!


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Screen Resolution

Getting to your Screen Resolution in the past was not as easy

as it is now. When you right click or tap and hold on an

empty area of your desktop, you may go directly to your

Screen resolution from the shortcut menu. While Windows

does a good job of identifying your monitor and providing the

optimal screen resolution, you may need to change these

settings, particularly if you are using a projector with your

computer. The projector and/or Windows may change your

settings in order to use the projector with your monitor. I

have had the projector and Windows change my screen

resolution settings to fit the needs of the projector, but

Windows did not return my computer back to the best

settings, so I have had to use the pane at right to return my

laptop to the optimal settings. Also, sometimes the computer and

Windows will not recognize a projector that you connect. The

Connect to a projector link or work with multiple monitors

provided or the keyboard short cut using the Windows logo key

and the P key will help troubleshoot the connection and allows you

set important display options for your computer and the projector,

such as Duplicate or Extend (for multiple monitors). Remember the

higher the resolution the smaller items appear and the smaller the

resolution the bigger items appear on your screen. Based on your

age and eyesight you may need to have a smaller resolution!


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View by and Sort by

The final area we want to review in customizing your Desktop is the View by and Sort by

options when you right click on your Desktop and from the short cut menu activate these

items.

View by

The View by fly out menu allows you to change the

size of your icons and adjust how they fit on your

screen. While I like having my icons snap to a grid

for orderliness, I like arranging them in any order I

prefer; therefore, I have the Auto arrange icons

unchecked and the Align icons to grid checked.

You may quickly hide your desktop icons from this

menu, too.

Sort by

You may sort your Desktop in a variety of ways, too. I generally

keep mine on Name or Item type but you may prefer Date modified

or size, particularly if you have lots of file, folder, and program

shortcuts on your Desktop.

Make your Desktop neat and orderly

Review your screen resolutions and set your view and sort by items for your desktop.

Important Notes:

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_______


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New Stuff , Old S tuff , and Removed Stuff

Remember DOS (Dumb Old System – actually Disk Operating System)? I

sure do – and with the advent of Windows 3.1 I shouted Hallelujah and

sang the praises of Windows with all of the nice things that came with it

– Solitaire, Notepad, Sound Recorder, WordPad, Paint, and

Calculator. Some of the oldies but goodies are gone with Windows 8 – no

games, not even Solitaire that taught us how to use the mouse in 1991,

no gadgets as in Windows 7, no 3-D flip. Some oldies are still there on

your Start screen and the All Apps view in the Windows Accessories

area I have Notepad, Paint, Snipping Tool, Calculator, and Sticky Notes

pinned to my Start screen and Taskbar. Many of your favorites have

undergone significant changes in the interface and improvements, such

as Paint and Calculator. Windows Vista contained some nice built in

features, such as Movie Maker, which is gone and now there are tons of

apps in the store from which to choose a video editor. You will want to

go to the App store download the video, audio and photo apps and

other items. I found Movie Maker relatively easy to use and loaded with

features, such as the ability to trim videos, include transitions, and other

fancy schmancy things without needing a Motion Picture degree from

UCLA.

Now, the new stuff we will look at two nice new features in Windows the

Snipping Tool and Sticky Notes and the enhanced Calculator.

The Snipping Tool

There have been (and still are) many third party vendors that have and can provide a way of

capturing the screen image and parts of an image on your monitor’s display. Most people used

the good old method of having the image on the screen, pressing the Print Screen (PrtSc)

key, and then pasting the image into an application, such as a Word

document or an Outlook email. Then the user would crop the image,

resize it, and perform other formatting techniques. Windows 8 provides

the Snipping Tool that saves many steps and provides a nice way to

transfer information displaying on your screen into another application. As

a technical writer I use the Snipping Tool extensively for the

screen shots and pictures that you see throughout this manual.

Since I use this constantly, I pinned this to my Start screen and

my Taskbar, but you may find the tool in the Start screen and

All apps view under the Windows Accessories group.

To use the Snipping Tool display a map, a photo, or other

object on your screen and click the Snipping Tool item. Using

the New drop down list in the Snipping Tool menu, you should select the type of snip you


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want, I usually use Rectangular snip. You will need a pen mouse or have terrific mouse skills

to use the Free-form snip, but give it a try, especially on a photo. The

Window Snip selects a command button, dialogue box or other type of

pane that you click it, and the Full-screen snip captures your entire

current monitor display. I use all of these based upon what I need to

capture for the Snip. For Rectangular and Free-form snips, your screen

will grey out or dim with a cross hair cursor for a Rectangular Snip or

scissors for a Free Form Snip you click and drag to select your snip area.

After you click and drag and release the mouse button the screen

capture appears in your Snipping tool edit area. I am snipping an area of this document as it

displays in on my screen. Depending upon the type of

Snip you may not select the area such as Full Screen

snips.

Once your screen shot or snip is in the editing area you

may save the snip as a .jpg, .gif, or other format using

the Save button. The menu bar and toolbar provides

common actions, such as Copy, Emailing the snip, and

using the pen to make ink annotations as I have

accomplished on the awful smiley face. The Pen’s drop

down item allows you to customize your pen type, the

color, and thickness of your point.

You can save your edited snip and reuse the file or close

without saving.

Microsoft’s Office 2010 and 2013 have a great new Screen Shot editing feature that you

will want to use instead of the Snipping Tool.

On your own – Snip a map.

1. Using your web browser display a map.

2. Activate the Snipping Tool from your Start screen’s Windows Accessories and pin it to

your taskbar.

3. At the Snipping Tool menu click the New drop down list and select Free Form or

Rectangular Snip.

4. When your screen dims, click and drag your cursor over the area of the map you want

to use.

5. After selecting your area, let go the mouse button and your snip appears ready to edit.

6. Add to your snip by using the pen and customize the pen with a different color and

point size.

7. Once you are finished editing your screen shot, save the snip as a .jpg file and email

the snip to yourself.


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Sticky Notes (aka 3M® electronic Post-It Notes ®)

If you have used the popular paper, analog 3M® Post-

It Notes ® then you will like using the digital,

electronic Windows Sticky Notes, which are very

similar to using Microsoft’s Outlook’s Notes. Sticky

Notes is an app on your Windows Accessories group in the All Apps View. Unfortunately

Sticky Notes is not available in all versions of Windows 8; the Windows RT version may not

have Sticky Notes for your tablet. This app is available and works great if you upgraded from

Windows 7.

Once you click the Sticky Notes item, a yellow Sticky Note appears

ready for you to type your note. Windows automatically saves your

notes. You may change the color of your notes by right clicking in

your writing and editing area. From the shortcut menu you may

copy, cut, paste, delete, and select your text as well as change the

color of the note. My notes appear at right and the blue note

displays the shortcut menu. To resize your note you may click the

lower right corner and drag out to increase the size of the note, in

fact you may click and drag any note border to resize the note. The

plus sign at the top of the note creates an new note and the X at the

top right corner deletes the note. You may close the Sticky Notes

by right clicking the Sticky Notes button on your Taskbar and

choosing the Close Window Option. When you activate Sticky Notes again through the Start

Screen or Taskbar your notes appear for you to edit and create more notes.

Stick ‘em up – Create your own Sticky Notes

1. Activate your Sticky Notes from the Start screen and Windows perhaps you should Pin

this to the Start or Taskbar.

2. Write yourself a Sticky Note and then right click in the editing/writing area and from

the shortcut menu change the color.

3. Using the Short Cut menu, Click Select All and with all of your text selected copy the

note’s text and paste it in Word, Outlook, or other application.

4. Close the Sticky Notes by right clicking the Sticky Notes button on the

Taskbar and clicking Close Window.

Calculator (On Steroids)

I was impressed when we could use a standard calculator or a scientific

calculator in the early days of Windows and at first glance as displayed here

the Calculator doesn’t appear to have changed much. But when you click the

View menu item, you will notice many options. Now, not only do you have

Standard and Scientific but also Programmer and Statistics. Wow, I sure hope

math teachers know that students can use this for homework! I wish I had this


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in the stone age, actually the slide rule age barely above an abacus

age! Truly, we’ve come a long way baby.

The Edit menu item allows you to create a history of your

calculations, too.

My View menu item for the Calculator appears at right with the

Worksheets selected and Mortgage. You can calculate Fuel

Economy and Vehicle leases, too. I am calculating a automobile

loan for $18,500 purchase price with a $2000 down

payment for four years at a 4% APR. When I click

the Calculate button, the result appears as

displayed below. To return to a “regular” calculator

select Basic from the View Menu.

Calculate This! Up to you –

1. Activate the Calculator under the Start

Screen’s Windows Accessories.

2. Using the calculator’s Mortgage Worksheet

under the View menu, calculate your

mortgage payment or other loan with a

constant interest rate and terms.

3. Return the calculator to basic or other view and practice calculating the hypotenuse of

a triangle with the cosign and tangents and then a square root of the standard

deviation of your weight!


iaap-hq.org 56

Index

A

Address Bar ....................................................................... 34

Alt And Tab Keys ............................................................... 40

C

Calculator .......................................................................... 54

Cascade ............................................................................. 37

Check Marks ............................................................... 26, 38

Check Marks ..................................................................... 38

Clicklock ............................................................................ 49

Clipboard Group ............................................................... 21

Color Scheme .................................................................... 47

Command Buttons ............................................................ 19

Copy/Cut ........................................................................... 39

Create Shortcut Here ........................................................ 44

Ctrl + Alt + Del Keys ........................................................... 40

D

Desktop ............................................................................... 7

Desktop Background ......................................................... 47

Desktop Customization ..................................................... 43

Desktop Icons ................................................................... 49

Desktop Shortcut .............................................................. 44

Desktop Shortcut Menu .................................................... 43

Desktop Shortcuts ............................................................. 43

Details Layout ................................................................... 24

Details Pane ...................................................................... 22

E

Extensions For Files ........................................................... 28

F

Favorites ........................................................................... 23

File Explorer 12, 16, 18, 22, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 44, 45

Filter .................................................................................. 25

Folder Options .................................................................. 27

Folder Options Dialogue Box ............................................ 26

G

Groups .............................................................................. 19

H

Home Tab ......................................................................... 20

I

Index ................................................................................. 56

K

Key Tips ............................................................................ 29

L

Large Icons ....................................................................... 25

Layout Group .................................................................... 24

Libraries ............................................................................ 33

M

Manage Tab ...................................................................... 32

Mouse Properties ............................................................. 49

Music/Video Tools ............................................................ 32

N

Navigation ........................................................................ 34

Navigation Pane ......................................................... 23, 34

New Folder ....................................................................... 21

New Items ........................................................................ 43

Notification Area .............................................................. 41

Notification Area Icons ..................................................... 41

O

Open In New Window ...................................................... 35

P

Password .......................................................................... 49

Paste ................................................................................. 39

Peek .................................................................................. 17

Personalization ................................................................. 46

Personalization Pane ........................................................ 46

Picture Tools Manage Tab ................................................ 32

Pointer Options ................................................................ 49

Preview Pane .................................................................... 22

Properties ......................................................................... 21


iaap-hq.org 57

Properties Dialogue Box ................................................... 45

Q

Quick Access Toolbar ........................................................ 18

Quick View Buttons ........................................................... 22

R

Ribbon ............................ 6, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 39, 45

S

Screen Resolution ............................................................. 50

Screen Saver ..................................................................... 48

Screen Saver Settings ........................................................ 48

Scrolling Wheel ................................................................. 44

Search ............................................................................... 30

Select Your Files, Folders .................................................. 38

Shake ................................................................................ 37

Share Tab .......................................................................... 22

Shortcut ............................................................................ 45

Show Desktop ................................................................... 17

Show Desktop Button ....................................................... 17

Side By Side ....................................................................... 37

Snap .................................................................................. 35

Snapshots.......................................................................... 16

Snipping Tool .................................................................... 52

Sort By......................................................................... 25, 51

Sound Scheme .................................................................. 48

Sounds .............................................................................. 48

Stack ................................................................................. 37

Start Screen ........................................................................ 7

Start Tile ........................................................................... 12

Sticky Notes ...................................................................... 54

Store Tile ............................................................................ 9

System Tray ...................................................................... 41

T

Task Manager ................................................................... 40

Three Fingered Salute ...................................................... 40

U

Up One Level Button ........................................................ 34

V

View By ............................................................................. 51

View Tab ........................................................................... 22

W

Windows Key ( ) ....................................................... 8, 11

Windows Logo Key And The P Key ................................... 50

Z

Zoom ................................................................................ 44